


Red With Envy

by sleepy_sphinx



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Creativitwins, Fluff, Humor, Just Remus Being Remus, Platonic Roman and Remus, RemRom shippers DNI, Sibling Bonding, Swearing, a bit of angst, some gross stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-26 05:28:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19761553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepy_sphinx/pseuds/sleepy_sphinx
Summary: Roman is the "good" part of creativity– he has good ideas, a supportive family, and is generally well-liked. His brother is none of these things. So why, then is Roman the one that's always crying? One day, Remus decides to find out why.





	Red With Envy

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Using fic writing as a form of wish fulfillment because I'm an only child and I live off of fluffy sibling bonding? how dAre you accuse me of such a thing, I would nEVER.
> 
> Anyway, on a completely unrelated note... enjoy some fluffy creativitwins :D

The sound of someone crying is generally agreed upon to be entirely unpleasant. By that logic, Remus should love it– and typically, he did! But his brother had been weeping for  _ hours _ now (at least, that’s what it felt like), and it was starting to get annoying. It wouldn’t be such a problem if he didn’t have to share a room with Roman, but the thin dividing wall between their two halves of the Creative domain did nothing to block out the noise. And sure, Remus could probably cover it up it out with some equally loud and annoying noise, like children being murdered, but the sobs would still be  _ there _ . Like a heartbeat underneath floorboards. Remus didn’t particularly feel like going mad today, so he decided he would pay his dear brother a visit. Snapping his fingers, he summoned a dark green portal in his wall that looked like it was crafted out of swamp water and vomit. Someone had to put an end to this annoyance. Why not the duke?

Roman’s room wasn’t actually that different from his own– both had a large desk in one corner, a four-poster bed in another, a huge bookshelf of archived ideas in the third, and a huge magical map of the rest of their kingdoms on one wall. The only real difference was that Remus’s was dirty, creepy, and altogether evil, where Roman’s was… well, Roman’s was beautiful. It took Remus’s eyes a bit of time to adjust to the sudden brightness that surrounded him, but as soon as they did he was able to spot his brother. Roman had his back to the duke, and was sitting at his desk, his head in his hands and hundreds of scraps of paper cluttering the top of his desk. He was so engrossed in his emotions that he didn’t notice the duke sneaking up behind him. Remus stepped forward slowly, until he was only a few inches from his brother. He quietly summoned his morningstar, leaned forward… and yelled, “WATCHA DOING?” 

Roman made a noise that sounded like a puppy being strangled. His head snapped around, but the terror faded from his eyes when he spotted his adversary. “Oh. It’s you. Of course. Please go away.” Roman turned back to his desk and buried his head in his arms. 

Remus huffed. “Not even going to say hello to your brother? RUDE.” He hoisted himself onto Roman’s desk, crumpling the cream-colored papers scattered there as he sat down. He picked one up, but whatever Roman had written down had been slashed out multiple times by bright red ink. “Don’t know what this was, but I’m sure it was atrocious. Maybe–”

“What do you  _ want _ , Remus?” Roman spat, his head still buried in his arms.

Remus blinked. “Right, almost forgot! Your crying was getting annoying, so I’m here to kill you.” He twirled his morningstar once through the air before pointing it at Roman. 

The prince didn’t even move.“Fine, just… make it quick,” he mumbled. 

Remus tilted his head. “... What do you mean, ‘make it quick’? You… you’re ok with me bludgeoning you to death?” Even though death was more of a mild inconvenience for both creative sides, Roman was typically more concerned about it... although his honor was the only thing at risk. 

“I’m just not in the mood to fight you right now.” Remus could tell it was taking all of Roman’s energy to keep his voice from cracking. 

Remus was almost insulted. “Fine. whatever you say,  _ your highness _ .” He wound up to swing his morningstar, like a baseball batter but with murder. Roman still didn’t move. 

Remus lowered the morningstar, disappointed. “Oh come on, Ro, you’re taking all the fun out of this!”

Roman’s head snapped up, finally facing his opponent. “First of all, you don’t get to call me ‘Ro’.” Remus smirked– some things would never stop bothering his brother. “Second, I’m not here to  _ entertain _ you. So either kill me and be done with it or leave. I honestly couldn’t care less.” 

Remus, having spontaneously decided that he was going to hang around for a bit more, got into a more comfortable position on the desk. Discorporating his morningstar completely, he lazily picked up another scrap of paper and transfigured it into a writhing mass of maggots, because he was unpredictable like that. Roman didn’t seem to notice, which only served to worsen Remus’s mood. “What’s got you so worked up, anyway?” He asked his brother.

“That’s not even remotely your business,” Roman practically growled. “Now please just  _ go away _ .” His voice finally cracked, like a rotten egg being thrown at a house on Halloween. 

Remus grinned evilly. “Alright, alright… I’ll go away… if you tell me what happened! Because now I’m honestly curious.”

Roman suddenly slammed his hand down on the desk, startling the duke. “You want to know what’s wrong with me? Fine.” he snapped. “I’ve been trying to come up with something for Thomas to create next for hours, and I don’t even have an idea! And if I can’t come up with anything good soon, the other sides will hate me! I’m just… I can’t come up with anything good! I’m letting everyone down! And there’s nothing I can do about it!” Roman’s cheeks were flooded with tears by now. “Thomas deserves someone better, someone who can actually have ideas, but instead he got me! And I’m not good enough!” Roman only stopped when his rant diverged into a mess of crying.

For the first time in a long time, Remus didn’t know what to say. Soon, though, his shocked expression morphed into a snicker. “Alright, nice try, but I want the real reason you’re upset.”

“Wh– that is the truth!” 

Remus blinked. “Really? Because that… is pathetic!” Remus began to laugh out loud, the force of his cackles making him double over. “God, I may be insane, but now we know who the stupid one is–”

“Why are you being such a dick?” Roman screeched between sobs. 

At an equal volume, Remus yelled back, “Because it’s what I am, Roman! I’m the awful, sadistic, Disney villain! What did you expect? You’re the one whose so darn  _ good _ all the time.”

“Good? All I ever do is mess up!”

Remus snorted. “You gave Thomas a successful Vine career, and then a successful Youtube career, not to mention the fact that he literally has his own musical. God, it’s like all that time in the limelight made your brain melt out of your ears.”

Roman blinked. He looked confused– which was fair, seeing as Remus was sending him a ton of mixed messages. The Duke had only realized halfway through his conversation with Roman that he was actively complimenting him. Typically, Remus tried his best not to question his instincts, but feeding his brother’s ego was not what he was here to do. As Roman continued to sit in puzzled silence, Remus steered the conversation in a direction he was more comfortable with.

“Now, take me, for example. It’s no secret that Thomas has an annoying tendency to brush my suggestions under the rug, but you don’t see  _ me _ crying about it. While you sit here, wallowing in your own self-pity and ripping parchment to shreds, I can come up with hundreds– nay,  _ thousands _ of ideas! You know, it’s actually ironic how, despite the fact that you’re the actor, I’m the one who actually acts, instead of just sitting around and pounding insults into my head.” That was a clever turn of phrase; Remus would have to remember it for later use. “So maybe my additions are a bit uncomfortable; at least I have more willpower than a moist paper towel–”

“How do you do it?” Roman blurted out, interrupting his brother’s monologue. 

“How do I come up with so many ideas? Easy– low standards. Or maybe I just have more  _ imagination– _

“That’s not what I meant.” Remus glared at Roman, who had now interrupted him for the second time. He had stood up, and was pacing with some sort of furious energy. His voice was strained as he continued talking. “How do you… how are you always so happy with yourself? I mean, I saw what the others said to you… how they talked about you, and your ideas, what Thomas said about you… and it seems like you don’t even care! How do you do that?”

Remus shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me. I mean, I’m just doing my job, right? It’s not my fault if those plebs don’t appreciate it.” Letting his legs dangle off of the desk, he picked up another scrap of paper and began folding it. “Maybe it’s because Thomas has never liked me… that’s kinda why I exist… but confidence is just a part of what makes me so effective! If I was worried about what people would think of my ideas, I’d never say anything!”

“Confidence…” Roman mumbled, pacing the floor. “I’m supposed to be Thomas’s confidence, right? His ego… but then why am I so bad at this?” 

“Waitwaitwait, you lost me. Earlier you said you were upset about your huge ego, but now your upset about your lack of a huge ego? I’m beginning to think you just hate yourself. Maybe even more than I hate yourself.” 

“Well, I mean, I don’t want to be overly egotistical! That’s wrong! Everyone hates a narci–”

Remus suddenly gasped, slamming his paper creation onto the desk. Roman spun around. “What is it?”

“THE WEIRD TOWER THING IN THE MOVIE INSIDE OUT IS CALLED “HEADQUARTERS” BECAUSE IT’S INSIDE RILEY’S HEAD. IT WAS A PUN THE WHOLE TIME!” Remus shouted. 

Roman sighed. “That… that has nothing to do with what we were talking about, but thanks… you’re four years late but whatever...”

Remus shrugged, before returning to his paper creation. “Well, epiphanies come at the strangest of times… oh, also I’m pretty sure I know why you're so fucked up emotionally.” His voice was light and nonchalant, a startling contrast to his mood only seconds ago. 

Roman deflated into his chair, staring with exhaustion at the gremlin on his desk. “And why, pray tell, is that?”

Roman was clearly expecting a joke answer. And it would be easy to claim that Roman’s inadequacies came from the fact that he was, at his core, about as soft and weak as a moldy banana. But Remus revealed in the unexpected, so he decided to tell Roman the truth– if only to throw him off his guard. He was unpredictable like that.

“It’s because pride is a sin. And when you and I were carved up like a cannibal’s dinner, I wound up with everything sinful.”

“That’s not–” Roman started to say, before stopping. 

“...True?” the duke finished. “My dear brother, you must know by now that I never lie. You are an ego without confidence. You’re like a person without skeletal structure– just a big, mushy, unsupported blob.”

“Disgusting metaphor aside… that theory actually makes a bit of sense.” Roman said with a grim smile. “Especially back then… Thomas didn’t like the idea of being overconfident. Virgil was becoming so much more powerful… so I guess it was only natural.” With another long, exhausted sigh, the prince buried his head in his hands.

Remus snorted. “Wow, Morality really fucked both of us up, didn’t he? You have the heart to create good ideas, I have the confidence to bring them to life. But separately, both are completely useless. It’s actually kind of bullshit.”

“Language,” Roman mumbled. 

There was a bit of a long stretch of silence after that, during which Remus realized there was no reason to stick around. “Welp, you’ve stopped crying, I guess. My work here is done. Just stay quiet, or next time I’ll sew your lips shut.” He hopped elegantly off of the desk, taking his crude origami creation with him. 

“Ugh… wait!” Roman called after him. 

Remus raised one eyebrow and turned around slowly. “...Yes, my brother?”

“I… I never thought I’d say this, but… I envy you, Remus. I wish I had your confidence, and–”

“Wow, you envy me? That’s super stupid!” Admittedly, Remus was only cutting his brother off to avenge his fallen monologue, but the statement was still genuine. “We literally just went over how you got all the good stuff! You are a prince, loved by Thomas, and the rest of his sides, and even some randos on the internet, and you’re jealous of a trash can with a mustache?”

Roman scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I never thought I’d be saying it, either… funny, the way you said that makes it sound like you were jealous of me.”

“Oh, I am!” Remus said brightly. “I’d literally die for the chance to be listened to like you are. But there’s nothing I can do about it– well nothing except scream my thoughts louder, I suppose.”

“But… what if there was?” Roman said, his voice high and nervous. Or excited. Or both?

Remus summoned his morningstar again, as he always did when suspicious. “Sorry, but I don’t follow.”

Roman took a deep breath. “Ok… I’m probably going to regret this, but… can you, maybe, help me come up with an idea for a video?”

Remus’s morningstar fell to the ground with a loud clatter. “Seriously? You want my help?”

Roman shrugged. “You think about things differently. And you did help me out just then, even if you didn’t mean to. It’s only fair that I help you in return.”

Once again, Roman rendered his brother speechless. No one had ever asked him for help before. Ever. 

Roman seemed to take his brother’s silence as a negative. “Sorry… it was a stupid suggestion, you don’t have to take it. You can go back to whatever trash can you crawled out of.”

Remus shook his head. “It’s been so long since someone actually wanted my presence,” He started to say, but his voice sounded weird. Unstable. Like a century-old drawbridge over a river of piranhas. He took a deep breath in, deciding now was definitely not the time for sappy sentimentalities. Was it hypocritical that he, the embodiment of often-suppressed ideas, was now emotionally suppressing? Yes. Did Remus give a fuck? No.

Roman huffed. “Nothing you can do will earn my pity, Duke Smellington. So either assist me with this project or get out.”

“Well... if you insist!” Remus hopped back on the desk, ignoring the chair Roman had summoned for him. “You can keep this, by the way,” He handed his brother the folded paper. “I think it’s my masterpiece!”

“Remus… did you fold an origami dick?”

“As a matter of fact, I did!”

Roman rolled his eyes and placed the surprisingly intricate paper creation in one of the pockets of his tunic. “Thank you.” He said dryly, “I shall treasure it always.”

“Ok, so what’s the plan, Princey?”

“Ugh, I don’t know… Normally the others just leave me alone when I do this.”

“We could just yell ideas at each other until something sticks?”

Roman shrugged. “I don’t exactly have a better idea!”

Lots and lots of yelling, three sword fights, two water gun fights, a food fight, and one dramatic duet (although not necessarily in that order) later, the brothers actually had something presentable. Roman smoothed out the parchment detailing their plan, reading it over one last time. 

“That was actually a bit of fun, Ro!” Remus said jovially, wiping the last drops of blood off of his morningstar. 

“You still can’t call me that. And even though I’m not sure we used all of our time wisely…” Roman cracked a mischievous grin. “It actually was kinda fun. Maybe we can do it again sometime– that is, if I get desperate.”

“Right,” Remus agreed. “Because you should know this changes nothing. I still hate your guts, Princey.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Roman moved towards the door of his room checking the time on a large grandfather clock stationed near the entrance. “Wow, I’ve been in here for a while… I hope the others didn’t start to get worried...”

“They probably didn’t!” Remus said brightly, returning the status quo to normality.

Roman shot a glare over his shoulder. “How about you get out of my room, you brat!”

Normally, Remus would have gladly stuck around to trash his brother’s space, but he was feeling pretty tired out from the brainstorming that had just taken place. He began to leave, calling over his shoulder: “Alright, plebeian. Good luck with the idea.”

Roman gasped, clearly insulted. “Plebeian? I outrank you, PEASANT.”

Remus snickered as he summoned another portal in Roman’s wall, before stepping through it and leaving his brother’s realm behind. 

It took Remus’s eyes an embarrassingly long amount of time to adjust to the darkness of his room. It was a lot less pretty, a lot less bright, and a lot more cluttered– but hey, home was home. He flopped down on a moth-eaten bean bag, preparing to rest and recharge– but a faint and unfamiliar rustling sound stopped him. There was something pinned to the back of his sash; Roman must have put it there when he wasn’t looking. Sighing, Remus twisted his head around until he could see his back (an action that had never failed to make Virgil squeamish back in the day). He was expecting some sort of Shakespearean insult, or maybe even a childish sign that said “Kick Me”. Instead, he found a neatly folded origami heart. 

Remus raised one eyebrow. What was this, some sort of brotherly affection? A callback to his own sarcastic gift? The teasing possibility that maybe the two  _ weren’t _ mortal enemies? Disgusting. Hearts were cute, agreeable, and pleasant, and pleasantness had no place in Remus’s domain. He should feed it to one of the eldritch horror monsters that hid under his bed. 

But then again… if the natural thing to do with the heart was throw it away, that would make it trash. And what better place for trash than Remus’s room? 

So, despite every ounce of his previous characterization yelling at Remus to kill the paper creation with hellfire, Remus decided to keep it. He was unpredictable like that. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the fic! and have a wonderful day~  
> -Alice


End file.
